1. The Effect of Time Pressure on Cognitive Task Performance -This title was chosen because the study sought to see if time pressure had any effect on how individuals perform on a cognitive exam task.

2. Introduction Does time pressure actively decrease an individual’s ability to produce optimal academic results? This research question was chosen because it is applicable to many aspects of the professional life. (E.g., SAT, ACT, LSAT, MCAT, etc. in academic settings and IQ tests and cognitive assessments in the workplace.) Previous research has shown that time pressure can be detrimental to cognitive performance due to a variety of factors. Anxiety: Research has shown that stringent time constraints may evoke anxious feelings in an individual, which in turn leads to poorer results. Sommer and Arendasy’s research supports this. Their study took a look at the effect of test anxiety on test scores. Two components: 1. Cognitive component 2. Affective (Physical component) Denis and Gilbert also did a study on test anxiety in relation to time constraint. Test anxiety: An accumulation of psychological and behavioral responses that result from being concerned about possible negative consequences that would result from doing poorly.

3. Introduction (Pt. 2) Time Constraint and Task Motivation: Previous research has also shown that working under a time constraint alters an individual’s reasoning for wanting to perform well. This is described as a person’s goal orientation. Beck and Schmidt did a study to see how goal orientation mediates the relationship between time pressure and performance. They found a negative relationship between the perceptions of time pressure and performance-goal orientation. This means the more time pressure, the weaker one’s goal orientation. We can understand this in two ways. 1. A person no longer feels the motivation to show off their competence and abilities to others. 2. A person no longer feels the motivation to excel and do better than others. Both internal and external motivation are compromised as a result of time pressure. Beck and Schmidt found that increasing time pressure decreases task effort because the individual will care less about appearing competent to their peers.

4. Introduction (Pt. 3) Time Constraint and Accuracy: Time constraint may also hinder accuracy, which is an important part of performance. Chesterman, Stoeber, and Tarn conducted research to investigate the relationship between time and perfectionistic performance. Perfectionism was used as a mediator because it serves as a determinant for accuracy. Their study showed that students who paid close attention to accuracy invested more time in the task, as opposed to those who prioritized speed. These students received higher scores. This showed that attention to speed decreased the accuracy of the task, resulting in lower scores. Hypothesis: The group that was unaware of the cognitive exam’s time constraint would perform better than the group that was aware. Purpose: The purpose of our experiment was to further test the idea that time constraint has negative effects on cognitive performance.

5. Method 50 participants split into 2 groups Male and female undergraduate students enrolled in the Research Methods psychology course Rewarded with participation credit Cognitive exam that included a brief mathematics section, writing section, and ELA section. Each section was prepared using basic school-level cognitive skill questions. Timer (5 minutes) Anxiety survey to assess each participant’s anxiety level after the exam Group B left the room as Group A took the test. Group A was told to take as much time as they would like, as opposed to Group B. Both groups had 5 minutes but only Group B was aware of that time constraint. Anxiety survey was administered

6. Results Independent Sample T-Test was used because we were comparing two means. There was no significant difference between the cognitive exam scores for Group A and Group B. Group A (M= 83.48, SD= 11.83) Group B (M=81.92, SD= 15.43) P= 0.69, which means there is a 69% chance that the difference between the exam scores was due to sampling error.

7. Discussion The purpose of our study was to identify whether or not time pressure had an effect on the participants’ performance on a cognitive exam. Our hypothesis guessed that the group that was oblivious to the time constraint would perform better than the group that was aware. The data collected did not support our hypothesis. It can be interpreted that other factors mediate the relationship between time pressure and task performance. Roskes, Elliot, Nijstad, and De Dreu did past research that shows that some people exhibit avoidance motivation characteristics when striving for the end goal in a given task. This provides interesting insight because lack of participant motivation could be an alternate explanation as to why our hypothesis was not supported by our study. The anxiety survey also revealed that the majority of the participants were uninterested in the study. For future studies, motivation can be provided by increasing their arousal levels. Students knew that they would receive participation credit simply for showing up. Future studies can offer bonus points on exams, which would increase arousal levels. In addition, linking participation in the study to course grades may increase the urgency of the task for the participant. Research on this topic has relevance because cognitive assessments exist in many environments ranging from universities to careers.

8. References Arendasy, M.E., & Sommer, M. (2014). Comparing different explanations of the effect of test anxiety on respondents’ test scores. Intelligence, Volume 42, 115-127. Beck, J.W., & Schmidt, A.M. (2012). State-level goal orientations as mediators of the relationship between time pressure and performance: A longitudinal study. Journal of Applied Psychology, Volume 98 (Issue 2), 354-363. Chesterman, D., Stoeber, J., & Tarn, T. (2010). Perfectionism and task performance: Time on task mediates the perfectionistic strivings- performance relationship. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 48, 458-462. De Dreu, C.K.W., Elliot, A.J., Nijstad, B.A., & Roskes M. (2013). Time pressure undermines performance more under avoidance than approach motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Volume 39 (Issue 6), 803-813. Denis, P.L., & Gilbert, F. (2012). The effect of time constrains and personality facets on general cognitive ability (CGA) and assessment. Personality and Individual Differences, Volume 52, 541-545.